OHIO graduate named president of the Broadcast Education Association

Ohio University graduate Kim Fox is the second Black woman president of the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) in the organization’s 68-year history.  

“It’s important to have diverse voices lead the organization,” said Fox. “And it’s been way too long since the voice of a Black woman has been at the helm.”

Fox, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1987 and master’s degree in 2003 from Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communication, is a professor of practice at The American University in Cairo. Fox teaches audio journalism, podcasting and other media related courses in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.

While she was a student at OHIO, both times, Fox spent a lot of time working at WOUB.

“As an undergraduate telecommunications major, I was the host of a nightly jazz show and the 'Black Directions' radio program on Sunday evenings. I was also a producer for 'Sauti,' a TV magazine show produced by students," said Fox.

Fox knew that she wanted to study media as a child growing up in Akron, Ohio. She listened to a woman on the radio named Carol Ford, who went to Ohio University, and realized that needed to be her path as well.

“There were no other women doing what she was doing at the time in northeast Ohio,” said Fox. “Carol Ford also worked at WOUB. So, I wanted to follow in her footsteps.”

"I worked at WOUB for nearly four years. I worked during breaks. It was professional work under the guidance of professionals. It was so important to my education and growth,” said Kim Fox.

As an Ohio University student, Fox got involved at WOUB during the spring quarter of 1984 and worked on both radio and TV. Fox originally thought she wanted to get into a TV production career. While working at WOUB in the summer of 1987, though, friends at the station told her about a new Black radio station that had recently launched in Cincinnati and encouraged her to apply for a position.

“They helped me make a demo tape,” said Fox. “I applied, and I got the job.”

After her start in Cincinnati, Fox worked at several other radio stations in cities like Cleveland and Buffalo before returning to Ohio University for a graduate program focused on public media.

“I immediately got involved with WOUB again doing things like hosting 'All Things Considered' in the afternoon and working in the newsroom helping with the radio and TV newscasts,” said Fox.

After graduating, Fox took a job as the general manager of the college radio station at Muskingum College and taught courses. She also did a faculty fellowship with NPR. Fox was later hired as an instructor at Penn State and then eventually as a weekend host and reporter at WOSU Public Media in Columbus before getting her current job at The American University in Cairo in 2009.

Fox says her time at WOUB while studying in her undergraduate and graduate degree programs gave her a solid launching pad for her career.

“I learned basic radio procedure and processes. It was foundationally there,” said Fox. “I didn’t do an internship while I was an undergraduate. I worked at WOUB for nearly four years. I worked during breaks. It was professional work under the guidance of professionals. It was so important to my education and growth.”